Uzbekistan Offers Visa Free 30 Day Access to 45 Countries
Uzbekistan, once one of the world’s most closed countries, has continued its policy of opening up with the granting of visa-free access, for up to 30 days for travelers from 45 countries. The initiative was announced on January 5 by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and follows other moves to open the country to tourists and investors alike. The new visa policy takes effect from February 1 this year. In addition, the list of countries whose citizens can apply for visas electronically has been expanded to 76 countries.
Citizens of the following countries can can advantage of the new regulations: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City. Nationals of France, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Turkey were granted visa free access in 2018. Germans will have visa free access from 15 January, 2019. Chinese and American nationals will still need a visa.
The next expected visa liberalization step is the introduction of the “Silk Road visa” by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The program, announced by Acting First Deputy Chairman of the Uzbek State Committee for Tourism Ulugbek Qosimhojaev on December 20, 2018 and confirmed by Erzhan Kazykhanov, the Kazakh Ambassador to the US the same day, would enable travelers with a visa from either country to travel to both.
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